Awakenings
by Caribou Kid
Summary: WHN: Nightmare Having defeated the aliens and saved the world, Captain Crane is relieved that the nightmare he had been living is finally over and everything is back to normal...or is it?


**Awakenings**

Lee Crane, captain of the submarine SSRN Seaview, stared on in horrified disbelief as Jim Bentley transformed from what seemed to be a normal man into something altogether inhuman as the blast from his weapon eliminated whatever force was allowing him to change his appearance. Moments later he simply winked out of existence leaving only his weapon as the only indication that he had been aboard.

Lee closed his eyes and sighed in total relief realizing he had managed to defeat the alien, destroy the Polaris missiles that had been launched towards Washington and hopefully saved his world from the nuclear apocalypse Bentley's race had hoped to ignite. As he leaned back against one of Seaview's missile silos the effects of his trial by fire slammed him hard and he slid limply down the side of the silo giving into the pain, terror and exhaustion as consciousness fled from his grasp.

ooOOoo

Having no idea how much time had passed Lee found himself floating in the nebulous world of semi-consciousness detachedly registering the sound of voices around him, the feel of a soft bed beneath him and the hint of antiseptic floating on the air. As all the pieces began to form a cohesive picture he groaned mentally realizing he was once again in the clutches of Dr. Will Jamieson ensconced in Sick Bay.

Now fully awake, he remained motionless trying to forestall the crushing grip of pain that accompanied a gunshot wound and to give himself time to put in order all he had experienced. He lay there for a few minutes until Doc's voice called him out from his feigned unconsciousness.

"Alright Lee, I know you're awake. Come on open your eyes for me please." Jamie said.

Cautiously Lee slowly pried his eyes open steeling himself for the moment when his wound would make itself known. As he lay there a look of confusion and relief flashed across his face at the noticeable absence of the unwelcome jolt. He took quick inventory of his body as he gently moved his arms and legs. He was generally sore all over but the blazing cut of pain he expected was absent. '_Wow,_' he thought to himself, '_Jamie's really found some excellent drugs._'

"Lee focus on me please," Jamie ordered. "How are you feeling?"

Lee turned his eyes to the man seated next to his bunk and gave him a faint smile. "I'm fine," he replied quietly which quickly garnered him a searing glare from the doctor. "I'm tired and just a little sore. You've really stepped up your pharmacy Jamie; I don't even feel the bullet wound in my shoulder,"

"Bullet wound? You haven't been shot Lee; there's no wound to feel," Jamie answered, a look of concern washing over his face. "You're showing signs of extreme exhaustion, have some colorful bruises but that's the extent of the physical trauma."

Lee reached suddenly up to his left shoulder and touched it finding no trace of the bullet Admiral Nelson, founder of the Nelson Institute of Marine Research and his adopted father, had put in him. A look of total confusion crossed his tired features as he tried to put everything together and make sense of things. "But the admiral shot me in the shoulder down in the missile room after he had gunned down Patterson."

Lee quickly scanned the room and noted the absence of both the admiral and his XO and surrogate brother Chip Morton. He couldn't for the life of him remember an incident when he had been brought to Sick Bay that at least one of them wasn't there to greet him when he awoke. He sat bolt upright, "Seaview?! Is she all right? Chip and the admiral are they all right?" he asked frantically.

Jamie gently pushed Lee back down onto the bed. "They're all fine Lee, just relax. Seaview's fine and the admiral and Chip are in a teleconference with Washington giving them a debrief on the missile launch. They'll be here once that's done."

Lee laid back and relaxed slightly. "What about Patterson?"

"Patterson's fine too, Lee. Other than a few bumps and bruises from the shaking Seaview took following the destruction of the missiles everyone is fine, even you." Jamie replied with a smile.

Lee furrowed his brow as everything became less and less clear the longer he was awake. Patterson fine? He clearly remembered Pat staggering back into the missile room and collapsing to the deck, his torso riddled with bullets. He had checked; Patterson had no pulse, no respiration and no way to survive that many shots. He was drawn from his thoughts as Nelson and Morton entered Sick Bay.

"Lee! Good to see you're awake," Harri said as he closed the distance between them. "How are you feeling?"

"All things considered, I'm fine sir but I'm more than a bit confused." Lee replied. "What's going on?"

"Well why don't you tell me what you remember and I'll try and fill in the pieces," Nelson answered with a smile.

Lee quickly recounted that he had been out in FS-1 testing the new gyroscopic attitude system and had seen what he thought was a US satellite out of orbit. Shortly after that he was hailed by the admiral on Seaview alerting him to a problem on the sub and told to get back aboard but was suddenly cut off before he could finish his message. He quickly aborted his mission and returned to Seaview to find it dark and completely abandoned. He was effectively locked in the nose and when he tried to exit up the staircase he was caught in a force field and briefly knocked out.

After that came the disembodied voices, boat systems operating by themselves, and the meeting with Bentley, the so called UFO expert and trading shots with him. He managed to knock him down and get him to tell him what was going on, Bentley then broke free and escaped up the staircase. What followed was the incident in the missile room where he found Bentley dead in the escape hatch; he was fired on by Patterson then the admiral killed Patterson, wounded him and initiated the countdown to fire the missiles. He described how he was hunted through the boat as he tried to thwart the enemy's plans, his capture and trial as a traitor by Nelson, Morton and Sharkey, his escape from Kowalski and his efforts to short out the electrical systems to prevent the missiles from firing. Then he detailed the fight with the admiral in the circuitry room and how he killed him with a live electrical wire only to find the admiral to be a robot.

The final piece of his story contained the confrontation with Bentley in the missile room, the firing of the missiles and his attempt to self-destruct the bombs. He relayed Bentley's explanation that Bentley's race was testing the human race to determine if it was mature enough for a place in the universe and because Lee had been unable to prevent the launch, the human race had come up wanting and would be destroyed by its own defenses. Lee related how he completed the self-destruct circuit by throwing himself on the control circuits to destroy the missiles and how the resulting explosion gave him the opportunity to get Bentley's weapon away from him and destroy the alien, which then suddenly disappeared once it was dead. After that, all went dark until he awoke in Sick Bay.

The admiral, Chip and Jamieson listened in amazement at Lee's tale as he told of all he had been through. As he finished his account of events Lee took in the incredulous expressions on their faces and cringed inside. He had a momentary flash of worry that they thought he was crazy and that all he had been through had only been a nightmare or some other sort of delusion that only he experienced.

Seeing the concern on Lee's face, the admiral quickly spoke up to assuage his fears. "That's some story Lee and luckily for us you were capable of outsmarting the aliens. If it hadn't been for your resolve and ingenuity in all likelihood we and the rest of the planet would have been a charred cinder by now after the nuclear nations of the world traded missiles in response to the unwarranted attack on DC."

"Thank you Admiral, but I still don't understand how all this happened. I know I was shot, that you killed Patterson and that I destroyed a robot in the circuitry room. How is it that none of that really happened?" Lee asked.

"Doc, is Lee ready to be released from Sick Bay?" Harry inquired.

"As long as he takes it easy and doesn't resume duty until tomorrow after he's had a good meal and a good night's sleep," Jamie answered.

"Good. Lee why don't you head to your quarters and get changed then meet me in the control room and I'll give you your answers."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Without that explanation there's no way I'm getting a good night's sleep regardless of your drugs Jamie. I'll be there in 15 minutes sir." Lee said as he made his way to quickly exit Sick Bay.

The three remaining men chuckled at Lee's rapid departure from his least favorite location on the boat. They all traded knowing glances and Harri and Chip followed Lee out the door and returned to the control room to await his appearance.

ooOOoo

Lee quickly showered and changed into a clean uniform. As he dressed he looked at the bruises on his chest and back from being tossed around during the fights with Bentley and Nelson and the destruction of the missiles. He had endured all that he had described other than the gunshot, his body had all the telltale signs of his struggles. Once dressed he headed out of his cabin and down to the control room for that badly needed explanation to answer those questions preying on his mind.

He quickly descended the stairs into the nose and spied the admiral and Chip standing next to one of the computer banks on the opposite side of the control room. Harri smiled and waved him over to join them.

"There's your answer Lee. All the voices were on tape and outer servo mechanisms tied in provided the weird physical phenomena." Nelson provided.

"A guinea pig for the aliens; I'd have been much happier if it hadn't happened to me," Lee replied.

"No, no, no Lee. Alien force did override fail safe. Missiles actually were fired. Now, someone else might not have been able to abort them as you did."

"But there has to be more to it than this. I was wounded, you turned into robot wiring, Patterson died, no one was aboard," Lee countered.

"It was a complete delusion. From the moment that Bentley hit you with that force field on the stairs, your mind was conditioned to all that, the rest of us being held prisoners down below," the admiral continued.

Just then Kowalski called out alerting them to a strange signal on sonar. The three moved over to Ski's station and looked at the signal on the screen. Chip commented that it was a strange signal and Nelson ordered Chief Sharkey to check with Sparks for any report on it.

Moments later Sharkey returned a large smile on his face. "Combination weather balloon and thermal layer, sir. Not a UFO within a 100,000 miles."

Sharkey's report was met with relieved smiles. Lee was thrilled that they didn't need to worry about more aliens and couldn't remember a time he was happier about the weather. The admiral suggested that they find out what the weather was like in Santa Barbara, which Lee concurred with fully and gave the order to return home.

As Seaview made her turn and began the voyage home Harri walked up to Lee and clapped him on the back. "Well kid it's about time to head down to the wardroom for that good meal Jamie ordered and then I think we all could do with a good night's sleep."

"Aye sir," Lee responded. "That sounds like one of his better prescriptions and one that I think I can actually follow. Coming Chip?"

"I'll be there once O'Brien comes on duty and relieves me. Leave something for me to eat, okay Lee." Chip replied.

Lee laughed. "Yeah right, as if that has ever been a problem." Lee and Harri continued out the aft hatch and down to the wardroom to start on their meal.

ooOOoo

After dinner Lee headed off to his cabin, feeling completely drained from the day's events, he was even too tired to conduct his usual evening walk-a-boat. He quickly got ready for bed, crawled between the sheets and shut off the light. As he lay there he released a deep and cleansing sigh as his body and mind began to relax as he settled into the bed. He drifted off to sleep rapidly once his head hit the pillow.

Around midnight something stirred him from his sleep. There seemed to be a whispering sound somewhere in the room. Lee flipped on the light above his bed and scanned his cabin trying to identify the source. Once the light came on the sound stopped. "Must have been dreaming," Lee said to himself as he stared across his cabin. He laid there unmoving for a couple more minutes then shut the light off and snuggled back under the covers and drifted back to sleep.

Once more at 0300 the sound of whispers pulled him from his sleep. "Who's there," he called out. Although no one responded, the whispering ceased yet again. The only sound was the low hum of Seaview's engines as they powered the great submarine back home. Lee flipped on the lights, got out of bed and walked slowly around his cabin trying to find the source of the sounds that had awakened him twice now.

Finding nothing he walked back to the bed and shut the lights out his ears straining to detect the indistinct whispering sound he had heard. He stood motionless waiting for it to resume. After standing there in the dark for nearly 10 minutes he mentally chastised himself for being so paranoid and crawled back into bed. As he laid there slowly drifting off to sleep he heard it once again. "Who's there?!" he yelled. "Show yourselves!"

Lee jumped out of bed and turned the lights back on. "I said show yourselves!" All was quiet for a few moments then a low, rumbling, menacing laugh answered his demands. An involuntary shiver went down his spine; he whirled around quickly trying to identify the source. As he was about to challenge the voices one more time there was an urgent pounding on his door.

"Lee! Lee, are you okay," Chip called out from the other side of the door as he jiggled the door knob.

"Yeah Chip, I'm fine," Lee replied. He stared at the doorknob not remembering locking it when he came in after dinner; he never locked his door. He moved over to the door and twisted the knob opening it for his friend.

"What's going on, I heard you yelling something about show yourself," Chip inquired as he entered Lee's cabin.

"I've been hearing whispering on and off during the night. The first time I heard it I thought I was dreaming after the second time it woke me up it started up again before I dropped off to sleep. I've been all over my cabin but I can't find where it's coming from. When I demanded that whoever was there show themselves I got a low, malevolent laugh." Lee replied.

"Really? I don't hear anything, are you sure you were awake?" Chip asked.

Lee stared at Chip taking in his look of disbelief. "Yes I'm sure. Plus I don't remember locking my door when I went to bed. Something's going on."

"It could be some carryover from when you got hit by the force field," Chip offered. "I didn't hear anything in my cabin and I don't hear anything now. Can you still hear it?"

They both stood there silently in Lee's cabin listening intently for any hint of sound but nothing but the normal background sounds of Seaview greeted their ears. "No I don't hear it now," Lee said after a few minutes. Chip just shrugged.

"Why don't your crawl back in bed and go back to sleep, I'll sit here for a while to listen for the whispering." Chip offered, concerned about his friend and skipper.

"No, that's all right Chip head on back to bed. I'm sorry I disturbed you."

"No Lee, let me do this. You really look like you could use some sleep and if I can keep the bogies at bay by keeping watch then I'm more than happy to do that." Chip replied.

"I don't need a babysitter Chip," Lee responded with a laugh. "You're probably right; it's a remnant from the force field and I don't need to keep you up all night."

"Okay, if you're sure. If you need anything just call and I'll be right over."

"Sure Chip. Head on back to bed and try and grab some more sleep before you have to get up for the day." Lee answered.

Chip gave Lee a small smile, patted him on the shoulder and returned to his cabin. Lee crawled back into bed and shut off the lights. He laid there motionlessly listening intently for even the slightest sound out of the ordinary. He finally drifted off to sleep just before his alarm went off.

ooOOoo

As the alarm signaled time for him to get up he groaned aloud rolled over and slapped the offending object into silence. He pried open his eyes, flipped on the lights and scanned his cabin. He was still exhausted having not gotten any restorative sleep during the night. He gave serious thought to staying in bed but knew that would draw the doctor and the admiral down to his cabin and he really didn't want to go into what had kept him awake most of the night.

Lee peeled himself out of bed and stumbled bleary eyed into the head to shower and to get ready for the day. Once cleaned up he donned his uniform and made his way down to the wardroom for some much needed coffee. As he entered he grabbed a cup, filled it with the stout brew and nearly chugged it. He finished the cup off standing at the urn, refilled it and made his way towards the breakfast bar.

He looked everything over and somewhat scowled as nothing even remotely appealed to him. He grabbed his customary piece of toast and made his way over to a table. Shortly after he sat down Chip entered and likewise grabbed a cup of coffee then loaded up his breakfast plate and joined Lee.

Taking in Lee's haggard appearance Chip frowned. "Damn Lee didn't you get any sleep last night? A zombie looks more alive than you do."

"Nah, I just couldn't seem to get back to sleep. I think I finally dozed off just before the alarm started beeping at me. One good thing though, there were no more sounds." Lee replied with a tired smile.

"That's good to hear, or in your case not to hear," Chip responded with a grin. "If you get too tired let me know and I'll cover your watch.

"Thanks, but I should be fine." Lee answered. They sat there for a few minutes as Chip worked his way through his breakfast and Lee sipped on his coffee wishing there were some way to mainline the caffeine into his system to give him the kick start he needed.

Once Chip finished his meal Lee stood up and grabbed his empty cup and plate with his uneaten toast and deposited the dishes in the bus tub next to the door. Chip looked at the plate with concern. "You not feeling well? You usually eat a whole lot more than that. You should try and eat something Lee, you need more fuel than coffee can provide."

"I'm just a little tired and food is the last thing I really want right now. Come on let's head on up to the control room." Lee replied.

As they exited the wardroom, Chip placed his hand on Lee's shoulder pulling his friend to a halt. "Seriously Lee I'll take your watch. You need some sleep; the last thing we want is you nodding off at the helm and the admiral catching you. You wouldn't make it out of Sick Bay for a month."

Lee forced a smile on his face. "I'm fine Chip, once the caffeine kicks in I'll be right as rain. I appreciate the offer though. Come on we don't want to be late and set a bad example for the crew."

Chip sighed in resignation and followed his captain forward towards the conn. Upon entering they were quickly greeted by Lt. Dawson who provided a brief on the current status of the boat then turned over command to Lee. Lee made a circuit of the control room touching base with each of his men then moved to the chart table to review the charts and their progress towards home. Now current with the state of affairs on the boat Lee moved forward to the nose and poured another cup of coffee.

"You drink much more of that and you won't be able to close your eyes for a month," Chip joked as Lee sipped on the high test brew. Despite his light tone his concern was clearly evident in his eyes.

"Well that's kind of the point," Lee joked back. "Look I'll hang out here for the next couple of hours then slink off to my cabin to do some paperwork and possibly grab a nap. Will that ease your worry Mother Hen?"

"As long as you take the nap first," Chip replied seriously.

ooOOoo

An hour into the watch the admiral descended the stairs and entered the nose. One look at his captain's haggard appearance had him immediately concerned. "Lee, are you okay? You look as though you haven't slept in a month."

"I'm fine sir. I just had a tough time getting to sleep last night, that's all," Lee replied.

"Well why don't you turn the watch over to Chip and make up for it? It's not like we're going into battle, we're on our way home and by the looks of things its clear sailing." Nelson countered. He took in Chip's eye roll as he stood behind Lee letting Nelson know he had tried to get the skipper out of the conn and into his bunk to no avail.

"Really sir I'm fine."

"Why were you having trouble getting to sleep? I would think after yesterday you would have slept like the dead. Did you ask Jamie to give you something to help?" Nelson inquired.

"I just think I was over tired sir and no I don't want any of Jamie's little wonder pills. I would actually like to be alert when we get back to Santa Barbara in three days." Lee replied with an exasperated smile.

"Lee go crash, we've got everything covered. You get too worn down and Jamie will lock you up faster than you can spell ONI." Chip offered. Harri nodded in total agreement forcing Lee to sigh in defeat and relinquish command.

"Call me if anything comes up, okay." Lee said

"Yes Lee," Chip answered as though replying to a nagging mother. He then smiled and clapped his friend on the back. Lee just shook his head then made his way to the staircase and back to his cabin.

ooOOoo

Returning to his cabin, Lee plopped down in his desk chair, irked to have been ousted from the conn. The last place he wanted to be was in his cabin and he began giving serious thought to heading out and taking a tour of his boat. Knowing the admiral would not be pleased and would most likely have Jamie sedate him if he didn't get some sleep he quickly gave up on that notion; Lee finally kicked off his shoes and climbed into his bunk. He laid there for a few minutes staring at the ceiling counting the rivets until he found his eyes growing heavy. Finally giving in to the inevitable he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

It wasn't long before the noises returned, that sibilant hiss of indistinct voices not meant to be heard distinctly by others in the room. Lee's eyes immediately popped open, his heart racing as though having run a dash, a fine sheen of perspiration spread across his forehead. He scanned the room rapidly looking for any possible source for the sounds.

He shoved himself out of his bunk and moved silently about his cabin listening at each duct and door for any hint of a source. The one thing he had noticed this time was that the voices hadn't ceased once he was awake in fact the volume had increased. He finally began tearing his room apart looking for secreted speakers or other devices that could possibly generate the sounds he was hearing.

"Who are you?! ... Show yourself!" he yelled out frustrated at not having found the origin of the voices. Laughter answered his demands sending a shiver down his spine, and then all went quiet.

Suddenly there was a knock at his door. "Skipper, are you okay?" came Kowalski's voice through the door.

Lee stared at the door for a moment listening for any return of the voices. He knew he had heard them; he wasn't going crazy of that he was sure. After a minute he moved to the door and opened it.

"Yes, Ski what is it?" he asked.

"Are you alright Skipper, I heard you shouting. Is everything okay?" Kowalski asked taking in his skipper's rumpled and unsettled appearance. He looked past the captain's shoulder and spied the trashed room behind him. "What happened to your cabin sir?"

"I'm fine Ski," Lee replied. "Uh I just misplaced something and was trying to find it," he finished lamely.

"Sir? Um would you like any help tidying up?" Ski queried finding the skipper's words and actions inconsistent with the man he knew.

"No, thanks for the offer though, I'll take care of everything. Is there anything else?" Lee inquired.

"Uh…no sir. I was just concerned when I heard you call out. If there's anything you need me to do, just let me know okay sir?"

Lee smiled; he could always count on Ski to be there. "I'm fine Ski, just head on back to your duties."

"Aye, sir," Ski replied and hesitantly turned from the door and continued down the passageway to collect the item the admiral wanted from his cabin.

Lee shut the door, turned around and perused his disheveled cabin. '_Well now I have something to do to occupy my time,_' he thought with a sardonic sigh. He set to picking up the pieces and returning at least his cabin back to order.

ooOOoo

As he finished folding and putting away the clothing he had ripped from the drawers beneath his bunk there was an urgent knock at his door followed by the admiral's concerned inquiry. "Lee, are you there?"

Lee rolled his eyes and sighed. He knew Ski would report what he had seen to the admiral and Chip and knew it wouldn't be long before they'd come calling to find out what was going on with him. "Come on in Admiral."

Nelson thrust open the door and stepped quickly into the room followed closely by Chip. They both scanned the room taking in the remaining vestiges of the debris field that Ski had reported seeing in the captain's cabin. "What the hell is going on, Lee? Are you okay?" Nelson inquired.

"Yes sir, I'm fine. I just couldn't find something and got a little carried away in my search for it," Lee replied quietly.

Harri stared dubiously at his captain taking in his disheveled appearance and the undeniable look of exhaustion on his face. "And what was it you were looking for, might I ask?"

Lee held a hurried debate with himself about how he should answer the admiral's question. On one hand he was inclined to offer some excuse that he was in search of an item he had brought aboard to avoid admitting he was hearing voices. But on the other hand he knew anything he said other than the truth would be totally disbelieved by the two men staring in concern at him.

"Sir, I've been hearing whispering voices and laughter whenever I'm alone, usually as I'm just dropping off to sleep," Lee finally said knowing he had to try and retain some shred credibility. "I was trying to find the source here in my cabin."

Harri raised an eyebrow and looked intently at his captain's face. "What are the voices saying Lee," Harri inquired in a level voice. He didn't want to give Lee the impression that he didn't believe him or thought him crazy.

"There's nothing specific I can make out, sir. It's primarily the hissing you would normally hear as people whisper to one and other. There is occasionally laughter when I demand whoever is speaking identify themselves," Lee answered.

"How long has this been going on Lee?" Harri asked.

"It started last night after I went to bed. I've heard it four times; three times last night and then just a while ago as I was trying to take a nap. I was looking for some sort of speaker or other device that could be generating the sound, which is why my cabin looks like a tornado hit it."

"Did you come up with anything?" Chip asked.

"No, I just managed to make a mess," Lee replied with a slight chuckle. "Believe me, I _am_ hearing this. The last time I heard it, the noise continued after I was up and awake."

"We believe you Lee," Harri replied after a moment. "Do you think it could possibly be some remnant from your run in with the alien yesterday?"

"I don't know sir; I heard nothing like that during the time they were '_testing_' me. When I heard things before it was your voice, Chip's or Sharkey's coming over the intercom; I could readily identify who was speaking and what was being said."

Harri stared at Lee for a moment more. "I'm tempted to offer that you're exhausted but your mind refuses to allow you the rest you need because of what the aliens did to you. However you seem in total control of your faculties and knowing you as I do kid, I'm inclined to believe there's something there. Let me see if I can come up with some sort of recorder that can capture these voices."

"That would be great sir," replied Lee. "I know I'm not imagining all this, there is something there."

"In the meantime Lee I would like Jamie to give you something to help you sleep. You're exhausted and if you don't get some down time soon, you are going to crash and crash hard." Nelson answered.

"With all due respect sir, I'm going to pass on that. If something is going on I want to be able to react and not be at the mercy of whatever is out there. If Jamie gives me anything I can pretty much count on it being heavy duty and it will knock me out completely," Lee countered.

"Very well but realize that if _**I**_ feel you've become over tired and it represents a risk to Seaview or the crew I will make you stand down until you're sufficiently rested. Are we clear on that?" the admiral responded firmly letting his captain know that no argument would be permitted.

"Yes sir, understood," Lee answered ruffling inwardly at the threat of losing his command even momentarily.

"All right then. I'll head on down to the lab and see about coming up with some sort of recorder that can hopefully catch what you're hearing. Why don't you just sit back and relax for a bit and see if you can get at least some rest, okay my boy?" Harri offered.

ooOOoo

Lee watched the door to his cabin swing shut as Chip and Harri left to go on about their business. He moved over to his desk and sat down heavily in his chair, the lack of sleep was really starting to wear on him making it hard for him to concentrate. There was something about that exchange with the admiral that just didn't feel right but he was hard pressed to identify what it was. Even Chip didn't quite seem '_right_'.

"You're just too tired, Crane. You're imagining things," Lee said to himself as he rubbed his hands over his face and eyes trying desperately to wake up. He sat there a moment more with his eyes closed trying to relax and quiet his mind. Somehow he managed to drop off to sleep, his mind and body both ready to crash due to a lack of much needed rest.

It was there again, the insidious whispering only louder this time. Lee opened his eyes and once again searched the cabin for any hint of a source. This was all becoming a bit unnerving and not a little irritating. As he listened to the hiss and lisp of the words he suddenly heard "_You're gonna to die Crane, you're all gonna die."_

Lee's head shot up his eyes wide. "Who's there?! Quit being a coward and face me!"

The whispering increased in volume accompanied by the malevolent laugh again then all went quiet, the only sound the ambient thrum of Seaview's engines. Lee shot to his feet and headed out the door for the admiral's lab to report his most recent encounter. He hurried down the passageway subliminally registering the fact it seemed too empty for this time of day. Where were the crewmen?

Arriving at the lab he knocked insistently on the door. After a moment a distracted "come" gave him leave to enter. He opened the door and stepped in finding the admiral seated at the counter amidst a plethora of electronic parts, circuit cards and wires scattered before him. Lee also noticed the alien weapon perched on the far corner of the bench.

"Ah Lee, what is it? You look like you've seen a ghost." Harri said taking in the agitated state of his captain.

"Sir shortly after you and Chip left, the whispering returned only this time there were words I understood." Lee began.

"Oh and what were those?" Harri inquired distractedly as he returned to his tinkering.

"A voice said, '_You're gonna die Crane, you're all gonna die_' and then laughed evilly when I challenged the speaker to show himself." Lee replied tensely.

Harri looked up from his work and stared at Lee. "That's interesting; did it say how we were going to die?"

"No sir, just that we were all going to die."

"Well I think I've come up with a device that should capture the voices next time they return and then we can see about going after the source," Harri said as he finished what he was doing and snapped together a pocket sized digital recorder. "This should pick up a much wider spectrum of sounds than human ears can normally hear. I'm hoping that this will capture what's being said and more importantly anything else you're not hearing."

He handed the device to Lee. "You just hit the record button and that's all it takes."

"Thanks Admiral, I hope that this works so I can prove to you that I'm not going crazy and there is actually something out there threatening us." Lee replied as he examined the recorder.

"I don't doubt you Lee; you need to believe that kid. You've been through quite an ordeal and hopefully this little device will reveal that there is still a threat to our security or that what you're hearing is just a remnant of your interaction with the aliens." Harri assured.

"Speaking of which, have you examined their weapon to any extent," Lee asked pointing to the disintegrator lying on the countertop.

"What?...Oh not yet, I've been tied up with placating bureaucrats over the missile launch and hopefully coming up with a solution for what's plaguing you," Nelson replied.

"That's a surprise, I figured by now you'd have it in a million pieces trying to unlock its secrets. I'm actually amazed that they left it here since they were quite intent on taking Bentley's body with them. I would have thought the weapon would have provided as much evidence of their visit as the body." Lee responded.

"Now that I think about it, you're right. This will be quite compelling evidence that the missile launch was of their doing and not ours. I get the impression there are some in Washington that are of the opinion that we had found a way to bypass failsafe and accidentally launched while we were playing around with it," the admiral said.

"Really?! Someone actually said that?" Lee asked incredulously.

"Well they didn't actually come out and state their opinion but there was definitely an underlying current of disbelief when Chip and I briefed them on the incident while you were unconscious in Sick Bay."

"That's comforting to know," Lee replied sarcastically.

"Don't worry about it Lee. There's not much they're going to do about it; Seaview is too valuable an asset to pull the missiles. Once we show them this weapon they'll have to believe us," Nelson answered. "Now, why don't you head back to your cabin and try out the recorder. You also should try and get some rest kid."

Lee stared at the admiral for a moment. "Sure, thank you for this sir. I hope it works."

ooOOoo

Lee exited the admiral's lab and made his was slowly back to his cabin. There was something definitely not right about the admiral's response. The fact that the Washington bureaucrats doubted his veracity would normally have sent him into a tail spin with a full out verbal assault on their credibility and competence. Then there was the issue of the alien weapon, in any normal situation the admiral would have been all over it bent on discovering every nuance of the technology that created it. The fact that he had pretty much forgotten about it and only grudgingly considered it as proof of his report on the alien takeover of Seaview was beyond comprehension.

As Lee mulled over his exchange with the admiral he once again almost subliminally registered the absence of crewmen in the corridors. Something was going on and he wasn't quite sure what that was. He quickly changed his destination from his cabin to the control room, he needed to talk to Chip and see if he had detected anything off about the admiral's behavior.

Entering the conn he spotted Chip up at the chart table updating their position. "Hi Chip," Lee said as he walked over to the table. Even though not on duty he did a quick sweep of the stations and made note that they had changed course.

"Lee, what are you doing up and about? I would have thought that you would be out cold catching up on some badly needed sleep," Chip replied.

"No I was just visiting with the admiral in his lab. We've changed course." Lee replied.

"Yes, we received orders from Washington to scout around for the spacecraft you saw and determine if it's still lurking around the area. We're heading in the general direction where you initially spotted it during your mission."

"Oh, well that makes sense." He motioned for Chip to join him in the nose and then moved to close the crash doors to give them some privacy. "Have you noticed anything different or off about how the admiral is acting lately?"

Chip considered Lee's question for a moment. "No, not that I can think of, what specifically are you referring to?"

"There's just something off, not quite…I don't know, Nelson. Chip there was a weapon left behind after I killed the alien, do you know the admiral hasn't even given it another thought let alone torn it apart to try and divine its secrets. You've known him as long as I have; you know that's totally out of character for him."

"Well we've been busy lately Lee. We've had the teleconferences with Washington trying to assuage their fears that we have somehow gone rogue, plus the issue with you and the voices you're hearing; he just hasn't had the time to focus on that I suppose," Chip answered.

Lee stared at Chip for a moment considering his answer. "Yeah that's pretty much what the admiral said."

Lee's growing sense of discomfort with the state of things on Seaview shifted into high gear. He regarded Chip with an increasing sense of apprehension that both Chip and the admiral had somehow been compromised, or worse were yet again automatons created by Bentley's race to test him. He had a bad feeling about things and it was only growing worse with time.

"So has the admiral been able to come up with anything to help you capture what you're hearing?" Chip asked as the silence between he and Lee grew too long for comfort as Lee's scrutiny of him deepened.

"Yeah, he came up with a digital recorder that is supposed to have a recording range way outside human detection norms. I get the impression he either thinks I'm nuts or developed supersonic hearing capabilities similar to a dog," Lee answered.

Chip chuckled. "I'd go with the dog hearing Lee. Could be something left over from when Bascomb turned you into a wolf."*

Both Lee and Chip gave an involuntary shudder as they recalled the horrific transformation Dr. Phillip Bascomb had put them through when they were unfortunate enough to have fallen into his hands on a remote island in the Seychelles. They both had suspected they retained a few of the animal traits from Bascomb's little experiment but spoke of it to no one.

"Yeah, right. If that were the case then you'd be hearing it too," Lee countered.

"Nah cats aren't necessarily attributed with the acute hearing like the canine members of the world," Chip responded with a small laugh.

"Whatever…if you could just keep an eye on the admiral and see if you notice anything different in how he acts, I would appreciate it," Lee replied.

"Sure thing Lee, but I think you're just imagining things. I'm sure after having already '_killed_' him you're just hyper sensitive to him right now. Give it some time and I'm sure you'll find him to be the same irascible individual as always."

As they stood their finishing up their conversation, the crash doors began to slide open revealing the admiral. "What's going on, I thought you were going to try and get some rest? Do I need to order you to your cabin, Captain," Harri inquired as he entered the nose.

"Nothing sir, I was just getting an update from Chip and wanted to discuss my most recent encounter with the voices without sharing that little gem with the crew. There are some things I just don't think need to be common knowledge on the boat, like a skipper who is hearing voices," Lee responded.

"I can understand that Lee, but I also understand Jamie's concern that you're in need of some serious sack time. Why don't you head on up to your quarters and grab a nap. You can turn on the recorder and see if there's anything there to capture should the voices return," Harri replied.

"Aye sir, I'll go give it a shot," Lee answered. "I'll catch you later Chip when you come off watch, okay?"

Chip nodded. "Sure thing Lee. Go try and get some sleep, you're giving corpses a bad name as it is."

Lee stared oddly at Chip and the admiral then turned and headed up the staircase to officer's country. It played on his mind how similar Chip's explanation for why the admiral had not jumped all over the alien weapon was to that of the admiral's, as though it were rehearsed. He plodded back to his cabin and once more collapsed onto his desk chair. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the recording device the admiral had given him hit the record button and sat it on top of the desk.

ooOOoo

Leaning back in his chair, Lee tried desperately to corner the reason why he thought the admiral was not himself. His increasing level of fatigue further clouded his mind and his ability to form complete thoughts or hold to a track of reason. Every time he seemed to zero in on what was odd about the admiral's behavior that raised his internal alarms, his thoughts skittered off in another direction attracted by something else shiny floating around in his mind.

As best as he could figure, he was coming up on nearly 70 hours without sleep and his body was becoming heavier with each passing moment as it yearned for the rest it had so far been denied. It felt as though he weighed a thousand pounds and his brain had been sliced into multiple pieces severing the track on which his train of thought was desperately trying to travel to resolve the problem at hand.

After the last episode he was almost afraid to close his eyes for fear of the return of the voice. As much as he tried to fight the inevitable his eyes slid shut and he slipped off into a troubled sleep. His mind flashed back again and again to the large headed alien lying dead on the missile room floor. He felt the agony of the bullet ripping into his shoulder, Chip and Sharkey accusing him of treason, the admiral condemning him to death, the struggle in the circuitry room, being on his knees at the admiral's feet waiting for him to pull the trigger and then him dissolving into a pile of circuits and relays once Lee hit him with the live electrical wire.

His heart raced faster and faster, his breathing more ragged as each event scrolled through his thoughts. It was suddenly too much and his eyes shot open as he sat bolt upright in the chair drenched in sweat at reliving the horrors of the previous days. As he tried to quiet his body the whispering returned once more, louder and more insistent than before. "You're gonna die Crane, you're all gonna die. You must pay for what you did along with all those who serve you," blared the voice in his ears as he rose to his feet spinning wildly around looking for the source.

"Damn you, show yourself! I've had enough of your games!" he yelled. His challenge was once more met with a rumbling laugh leaving Lee feeling very much like a mouse being toyed with by a cat. As he stood there scoping out the room the voices faded away and all was quiet.

Lee grabbed the recorder, rewound it then hit play. He heard the whispering and the voice on the tape threatening him; his hopes soared as he now had proof of what was going on around him. He shut the device off and bolted out of his cabin and down to the control room to share it with the admiral and Chip.

ooOOoo

Lee flew down the staircase into the nose to find the admiral and Chip sitting at the table going over some charts. "We're pulling up on the craft now sir," he heard Chip say as he descended the steps.

"Sir! Admiral, I've captured the voices on your recorder, it worked," he exclaimed enthusiastically.

The admiral and Chip stared up at Lee somewhat startled by his sudden appearance and outburst. "Relax Lee, just slow down," Nelson replied. "You say you've got the whispering on tape?"

"Yes sir, I do."

Nelson looked behind Lee and took in the concerned faces of the crew in the control room. "Chip shut the crash doors please; I think this is something we should hear in private."

"Aye sir," Chip responded as he pushed up from his seat at the table and moved to the door controls. He depressed the button and the crash doors slid quickly shut.

"Okay Lee let's hear what these voices have to say," said the admiral.

Lee hit the rewind button then depressed play. As they listened to the playback, Lee's face lit up as he heard the hiss and lisp of the whispering, then the clear voice telling him that they were all going to die followed by his demand the speaker show himself. He looked at Chip's and Harri's faces and instead of seeing confirmation that the voices were there he saw a growing look of concern.

"Well did you hear that?" Lee asked.

Both men shook their heads no. "No Lee all I heard was you demanding that someone show themselves. How about you Chip?" responded Harri.

"I only heard Lee's voice as well sir." Chip answered.

"No! The voices are there I heard them all, mine included. I tell you I'm not imagining this." Lee insisted.

"Lee I'm ordering you back to your cabin and then I'm having Jamie come down and give you something to knock you out. You've been awake too long kid and it's starting to affect your mind; you are hearing things that aren't there and that could pose a danger to the ship." Nelson ordered.

"Please sir believe me, I'm not making this up. Maybe Chip was right when he said that I'm able to hear it as a result of a lingering side effect from Bascomb's transformation. There's got to be some way you can analyze the recording to determine if there are ultra-sonic sounds recorded on the disc." Lee implored.

Nelson looked at Lee and sighed in exasperation. "If it will give you any peace of mind I'll take it down to the lab and see if I can detect anything besides your voice."

"Thank you sir, I appreciate it."

"Chip would you please bring Dr. Jamieson to the conn?" Nelson said.

"Yes sir, I'll do that immediately," Chip replied as he moved to the spiral staircase and exited to collect the doctor.

After Chip had gone Lee moved over to the table and sat down in front of the admiral. "Dad you've got to believe me. There's a definite danger to Seaview and the crew, I know it. I think Bentley's people haven't left and they are intent on destroying me and Seaview as retribution for killing him."

Nelson looked up suddenly, shocked at what he had just heard. "What did you just call me?!"

Lee stared back in disbelief. "I called you Dad, sir. Don't you remember that ONI mission we went on in Cairo where we posed as father and son as part of our cover?" Lee offered knowing that never occurred.

Nelson regarded Lee for a moment. "Yes, yes, now I recall. I don't however consider use of that term appropriate when we are aboard Seaview."

Lee sat back in his chair and looked at the admiral. It all hit home now what was off about Nelson's behavior. Never had he referred to Lee as _kid _or _boy_, or would he have been so easily side tracked from dissecting and studying something as intriguing as an alien weapon for so long. Nelson had adopted Lee over a year ago and he used the name _Dad_ for Harri when it was just the two of them and Lee needed to convey something of private importance.

"You're not Harriman Nelson, you're either another robot or an alien like Bentley," he finally stated, in a flat and deadly tone.

"What?! Of course I am Harriman Nelson. Now I'm totally sure you've become delusional kid and it is you who presents the danger to Seaview not some alien entity," Nelson responded coldly.

Just then Chip and Jamieson descended the stairs into the nose. The tension between the admiral and the captain was immediately evident as they each glared belligerently at each other.

Trying to defuse the situation Jamie spoke. "You sent for me Admiral?"

"Yes doctor. Captain Crane here has become delusional due to a lack of sleep. I need you to escort the captain back to his quarters and give him a strong sedative to get him the rest he so evidently needs," he replied glaring at Lee.

"Uh, yes sir. I fully agree that the captain is in desperate need of sleep," Jamie replied as he stepped over to Lee. "Come on Skipper let's head on up to your cabin and I'll get you settled in for a nice long rest."

Lee pushed up from his chair slowly, not taking his eyes from the alien entity sitting across from him. "Doctor I _am_ tired but I am _not_ delusional. That is not Admiral Harriman Nelson sitting there but one of the aliens that managed to fire the missiles. They're here for revenge for me killing their comrade. They want me dead and Seaview destroyed."

Chip and Jamie eyes went wide at Lee's declaration, their disbelief clearly written across their faces. "Oh come on Lee, just because he couldn't hear the voices on the tape doesn't make him an alien or me either for that matter. You're just over-tired and need to rest."

Lee's eyes narrowed as he switched his gaze to Chip. He had his doubts about his XO and the man he considered his brother and toyed with the notion of making similar allegations about him. Deciding it would probably be best to not voice those concerns at the present time he remained quiet.

"Doctor, Mr. Morton, kindly escort the captain to his quarters _**now**_ and make damn sure he doesn't emerge until he is rested and in his right mind again," ordered the admiral. Nelson and Crane exchanged glares at his order.

Jamie stepped forward and placed his hand on Lee's arm. "Come on Skipper, let's go back to your quarters and get you settled in bed."

Lee jerked his arm out of Jamie's grasp and glowered at him as well. He knew he didn't stand a chance of getting out of the nose without Chip and the admiral tackling him so he decided to make his play for freedom once he was alone with Jamie. "Very well sir," he replied venom and contempt dripping from his words.

ooOOoo

Lee made his way to the staircase with Jamie and Chip hot on his heels. He climbed up to the deck above and walked to his quarters. As he reached the door he turned and faced the doctor. "Thank you Jamie I'll be fine now."

"I know that Lee," Jamie replied trying to calm and comfort his patient. He reached past Lee and opened his cabin door indicating he should enter. "Why don't you get undressed and climb between the covers and I'll be right back with a sedative to help you relax and sleep, Skipper. Chip, why don't you give him a hand?"

"Sure thing Jamie," Chip replied staring intently at Lee waiting for him to enter his stateroom.

As Jamie turned and moved down the passageway towards Sick Bay, Chip motioned for Lee to enter the room. Lee turned and walked in followed closely by his XO. "Geez Lee that wasn't the brightest thing to say even if you are ready to drop from exhaustion," Chip said as he closed the door behind him. Lee just glared at him for moment then moved towards the head to grab a cup of water.

Chip followed him into the room then walked over to Lee's bunk and drew back the covers on the bed. Lee emerged silently from the head and delivered a perfectly executed karate chop to Chip's neck knocking him out. He caught him before he hit the floor and placed him in his bed and covered him up. Next he moved to the door and locked it.

He looked back at the unconscious form of his friend. "Sorry Chip, if you really are Chip but I need to take care of business and since you're not inclined to believe me right now I guess I have to do it alone."

Lee opened the grate on the vent shaft in his cabin, hopped in and began moving rapidly down the shaft. He had to find some way to prove to everyone that the admiral wasn't the admiral anymore but some alien effigy. His mind raced trying to formulate a plan to make that happen.

ooOOoo

Within moments the alarm for general quarters was sounded and the admiral's voice boomed over the intercom. "General quarters, general quarters; all personnel, be on alert for Captain Crane. He has become delusional and violent since his experience with the aliens and poses a direct threat to the safety of this vessel. He should be considered armed and dangerous and must be captured and detained at all costs, repeat all costs. Security, initiate a complete search of the vessel immediately."

Knowing Seaview better than even her designer, Lee moved quickly through the vent shaft and exited into a small storage room where he hopefully could avoid detection by the search party. As he nestled down amongst a stack of boxes he heard the door to the room open, men enter and begin searching. After 15 minutes he heard Kowalski declare the room clear and the team left. Lee let out a relieved sigh truly hoping they thought the room empty and were not just trying to draw him out into a trap again.

He remained hidden for another 10 minutes until he felt relatively sure they had moved on to another section of the boat. He carefully extricated himself from the boxes and eased his way onto the floor. He moved cautiously to the door, gently turned the knob and cracked it open to peruse the passageway, much to his relief it appeared empty. He opened the door further and stepped warily into the corridor then started walking quickly down the hall.

As he moved to his intended destination another set of alarms began to sound throughout the boat. His blood chilled as he realized this claxon indicated a radiation leak. They were going to kill his boat and were going after her heart, attacking her reactor. Lee broke into a run and flew down the hallway to the admiral's lab. He just prayed that the alien weapon was still there and functional.

Arriving at the lab he threw open the door and found the room empty. He let out a sigh of relief as he spotted his prize still sitting where he had last seen it. He snatched it up turned and hurried down the passageway to the reactor room to put an end to the alien's attempt to destroy his boat.

"You won't stop us this time Crane," boomed the voice over the intercom. "We won't let you win again. You may have saved your planet, but you, your crew and your boat are lost."

ooOOoo

Lee ignored the taunt and doubled his pace down to the reactor room. The corridors were empty when they should have been manned with crew ready to respond to the incident. There was no one around and he flashed back momentarily to when he first returned from his mission - how many days ago? As he reached the reactor room door he was met with an unexpected sight, Admiral Nelson was poised by the control rods, all of which had been pulled allowing the reactor to run wild, with a gun in his hand trained on Chip. On the other side of the room was Chip Morton gun in hand aimed at the admiral.

As he entered both men glanced quickly at him then resumed their focused stares on one and other. "Lee thank god you're here," said Chip. "I came down here after I heard the alarm and found the admiral here sabotaging the reactor. I should have believed you, he's the alien you said he is. I'm sorry I doubted you brother."

"Lee the reactor has been sabotaged but not by me, but by Chip. I have no idea what's been happening but I suddenly found myself in the missile room and heard the radiation alarm go off. I got here as quickly as I could and found Chip pulling the rods and fiddling with the controls. He's the alien, son. You've got to believe me." Nelson implored.

Lee scanned the gauges and dials in the reactor room rapidly evaluating the situation and how close they were to critical loss of control. He glanced from one man to the other as he considered what each had said. All the while he pondered the situation presented him, he kept his weapon leveled and ready to immediately fire on the man he deemed the greatest threat.

"Lee you need to make a decision. You've got to shoot the admiral so we can act to take back control of the reactor and save the ship," Chip pleaded.

"Lee, lad, believe me I'm not the alien. If you can't believe that then you need to shoot us both so you can get to the controls and power down the reactor," the admiral countered.

Carefully weighing the statements from each man Lee trained the alien weapon in his hand on the admiral as he reached his decision. "Step away from the controls, Admiral or whatever you are," he said flatly.

Lee's decision made Chip smile and sigh in relief as he started to lower his gun, in that instant Lee turned and fired the disintegrator at Chip. He immediately collapsed to the floor and after a brief moment his features transformed from those of his brother and best friend to those of the green skinned, large headed alien Lee had encountered in the missile room then winked out of existence just as before.

"Thank god," Nelson replied as he stared in shock at the scene before him.

Lee turned back to the admiral and raised the weapon at him. "Step away from the reactor control panel Admiral, now!" Nelson looked shocked at Lee's command and the fact that he was now the focus of his weapon. He stepped quickly back heading in the direction Lee indicated not wanting to draw his fire.

"Step outside the reactor room and pull the door shut," Lee ordered never lowering his weapon. Nelson quickly obliged pulling the hatch to the reactor room shut. Lee immediately spun the wheel sealing the door, grabbed a spanner bar and jammed it shut. He laid down his weapon and moved quickly to the reactor where he pushed the rods back in to cool the core and reestablish control over his boat. Once the danger of a meltdown was eliminated Lee looked out through the reactor room windows finding Harriman Nelson just standing there watching him work, a look of confusion written clearly across his face.

Lee sighed and leaned heavily against the reactor room wall feeling all the stress and strain of the last couple of days hit him like a broadside of torpedoes. After a moment with great effort he pushed off the wall moved to the hatch and opened it allowing the admiral to enter.

Harri stepped through the hatch cautiously never taking his eyes off of Lee. "Care to tell me what the hell is going on Captain?" he inquired of the exhausted man he saw before him.

"I'm sorry sir; I just couldn't risk you being an alien as well. We've been the subject of an alien test to determine whether our species is "_mature_" enough to defend itself and stand as a member of the universal community," Lee responded tiredly. "This is the second test and hopefully the last. Admiral we need to get to the missile room load the torpedo tubes and fire them at the alien ship before they can get away. Destruction of their advance guard will send a very strong message that humans are not a race with which to trifle without dire consequences."

Harri stared at Lee for a moment weighing what his captain had just told him and noticing that the weapon in his hand never swayed from its aim on him. "Okay Lee, you apparently are aware if things I'm not and know what needs to be done. Do whatever is necessary son."

"Then if you would lead the way to the missile room sir, hopefully we can put an end to this once and for all."

ooOOoo

They moved quickly down to the missile room and loaded all four torpedo tubes setting the torpedoes to explode at full force. That completed Lee looked at the admiral gauging carefully his response to their actions, he seemed to be on board with everything but he wasn't going to take any chances. "Time to head to the conn sir, to take out that alien spacecraft."

Nelson nodded his agreement, turned and led the way out of the missile room up to the conn. Upon entering the conn they immediately noticed that it was deserted; an eerie sense of déjà vu broke over the captain like a cresting wave. Keeping his weapon leveled on the admiral, Lee moved to the forward fire control station fed in the coordinates and powered up the torpedo launch controls.

Harri made no move to interfere with Lee's actions realizing there was much more at play here than he was aware. Lee looked at Harri and motioned to the helm, "If you would be so kind sir, please back Seaview away from the alien craft as fast as the engines will allow." Nelson moved quickly to the helm, engaged the engines and applied reverse flank to move them rapidly away from the alien craft in front of them.

Once satisfied that they had reached minimum safe distance Lee once more looked at the admiral evaluating his response to their actions. He moved purposefully to the forward fire control station and in rapid succession depressed the Fire buttons sending Seaview's torpedoes racing from their tubes towards the craft before them. As the torpedoes hit, the flying saucer was demolished and Seaview was thrown about like a child's toy despite her distance from the point of impact.

Lee and Harri were thrown to the floor as the boat bucked and rolled in the turbulence from the explosion. As he lost his feet, Lee struck his head on the chart table and dropped like a bundle of wet laundry as consciousness fled his exhausted body. Harri grabbed the base of the helmsman's chair and held on for dear life waiting for the shock waves to diminish and allow him to go to Lee's aid.

ooOOoo

Having no idea how much time had passed Lee found himself floating in the nebulous world of semi-consciousness detachedly registering the sounds of voices around him, the feel of a soft bed beneath him and the hint of antiseptic floating on the air. As all the pieces began to form a cohesive picture he groaned mentally realizing he was once again in the clutches of Dr. Will Jamieson ensconced in Sick Bay.

The wave of déjà vu once again broke against his consciousness and he hoped to hell that he had defeated the aliens yet again and he would find his friends and commanding officer anxiously awaiting his return to the conscious world putting an end to this terrifying nightmare. He slowly opened his eyes to find Jamie staring down at him in concern.

"Lee, can you hear me?" Jamie asked as he observed Lee's eyes flutter open.

Lee had a tough time making his eyes focus as he fought off the headache and fatigue that assaulted his body. "Yes Jamie I can hear you," he finally croaked out.

Jamie immediately picked up the cup of water on the rolling cart next to Lee's bunk and offered it to him to ease the dryness in his throat. Lee sipped hungrily at the cooling liquid and then tried once again to focus on the voice floating above him. As his eyes finally focused and held on the doctor, Jamie smiled in relief.

"Welcome back Skipper. How are you feeling?" Jamie asked.

Lee conducted a quick inventory of his body and after a moment responded, "I'm fine." Jamie's exasperated sigh was like a soothing balm on a wicked burn and Lee smiled back in relief.

As he became more aware of his surroundings Lee quickly scanned the room and much to his relief he found the admiral and Chip staring anxiously at him from across the room. He closed his eyes and a relieved smile spread quickly across his face.

"Welcome back, son," Harri said as he walked to Lee's side once Jamie had collected his readings and moved off to record them on Lee's chart. Harri gently laid his hand on Lee's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze, relieved his son was now back with the living.

"Thank you sir," Lee replied after a moment. "It's great to _be_ back."

"Hey bro, thought you were going to sleep all the way home," added Chip.

Lee smiled feeling for the first time in quite a while that he was amongst those men he trusted most. So far their words and actions matched how he remembered them. Yet he was hesitant to fully let down his guard on the off chance that this was once again a test forced upon him by the aliens. How could he be entirely sure he wasn't being manipulated yet again?

"Well I thought I'd just take a bit of a vacation before I resumed command," Lee replied.

"Dream on," replied Jamie. "You're not likely to see the conn for at least a week. You're showing all the signs of extreme exhaustion and it's highly unlikely your body will let you up and around for more than a handful of hours each day until you've rebuilt your stamina."

Lee scowled back at Jamie, but just didn't have the strength to give it more than an obligatory run. He felt like a newborn colt, weak all over and immediately ready to drop back off to sleep. "I'm ready to be out of her now Jamie," he responded with little conviction. Jamie rolled his eyes and Chip and Harri chuckled in the background.

"Lad do you feel up to telling us what's been going on the last three days," Harri asked.

The use of the word 'lad' made Lee smile and he felt the knot of doubt within him begin to release. "Sure sir, where should I begin?" he asked.

ooOOoo

Lee had slept 24 hours straight without any assistance from Jamie and was only now surfacing as his he had sufficiently replenished his reserves. He peeled his eyes open slowly and was gratified to see Nelson sitting at the side of his bed dozing lightly. He shifted slightly in the bed to get comfortable but it was enough sound to bring Harri instantly awake.

"So you've decided to join us once again?" Harri said jokingly.

Lee smiled warmly and blinked a couple of times. "Yes sir. I think I've finally had as much sleep as I can handle. How long have I been out?"

Harri smiled back at his son and placed his hand gently on his shoulder. "Good to have you back son. You've been asleep for over 24 hours. How are you feeling, honestly?"

Lee blinked in amazement at how long he'd been out and then took a quick inventory of his body and smiled. "I can honestly say I'm feeling fine sir."

Harri laughed and gave Lee's shoulder a quick squeeze. "Good to hear. So do you think you might be up to a few questions regarding your run-ins with the aliens, Lee?"

"Yes sir, fire away," Lee replied.

"When last we talked, you got as far as when you arrived at the reactor room before we lost you to Morpheus," Harri joked. "What I want to know is how you decided Chip was the alien and not me. Based on your previous experiences I would have thought you would have blasted me just to be safe."

"Well sir I finally came to the realization that the Nelson I was interacting with up until then was a phony after I had called it Dad while we sat in the nose waiting for Chip to return with Jamie. Your doppelganger went ballistic and up to that point I only had an inkling that something was off about you but because I was so tired, I just couldn't identify why. Once the alien confirmed that we had gone undercover as father and son in Cairo I knew he was a fraud. It also dawned on me why I had the feeling your actions were off. On a number of occasions you had called me _kid_ and _boy_; you've never addressed me as such. You're usual terms are _son_ and _lad_ and it finally dawned on me that you hadn't used either term when we spoke."

"When we were all down in the reactor room you addressed me as _lad_ and Chip addressed me as _brother_. _Lad _was correct for you and _brother_ was wrong for Chip, letting me know who presented the greatest threat. Chip has always called me _bro_, never _brother_, just as you have never called me _kid_, or _boy_. Also even in that tense situation, Chip would not have let pass the fact that I had attacked him in my endeavor to escape my quarters and regain control of the boat. He would have made some reference to the event and chewed me out for not believing in him or giving him the chance to participate. Once I had eliminated the alien Chip, I still couldn't take a chance that the aliens hadn't somehow corrected for the way you usually speak to me and you too were either another robot or a disguised alien. That's why I couldn't let down my guard and kept my weapon trained on you. "

Harri let loose a satisfied smile and nodded as he listened to Lee's explanation of events. "Now it makes sense."

"Sir I do have a question for you, how did the alien Nelson and Morton come to use those specific terms to refer to me?" Lee asked.

Harri smiled again. "Well Lee we had noticed that while we were prisoners of the aliens they suddenly seemed to key in on both Chip and me, they watched how we interacted and how we referred to you and each other. I think they performed some sort of brain scan as well gleaning memories and personality traits. When we caught on to that, it was Chip's suggestion that we use nicknames for you and each other that we normally would never use on the off chance they were trying somehow to impersonate us. They seemed to have a very good grasp of our language so we had to choose terms that had consistent meanings but were enough different that you would recognize them as odd. Since you hadn't joined us in captivity we assumed they were playing some sort of mind game with you and that was our means of trying to tip the odds in your favor. We had no idea that you were playing for the world, son."

"The one thing I wonder at though is why they suddenly released me and allowed me to go to the rector room," Harri said.

"I think they wanted me to kill you and then discover that I had killed someone extremely important to me in error. I had eliminated Bentley and at one point in their harassment they indicated that I had to pay for that. What better way to exact their revenge than to have me kill my father by mistake due to the paranoia they had fostered within me?"

"That makes sense in a twisted sort of way," Harri replied. "Well hopefully they've learned we humans do have a bite that goes along with our bark and won't be making any return visits to our lowly planet any time in the near future."

"I'm all for that Dad," Lee replied patting Harri's hand where it rested on his shoulder.

"Me too kid, I mean son" Harri replied with a wink and warm and teasing laugh.

The End.

* Basic Instinct


End file.
